of amesbury



D. BOURQUEn STUD AND SOCKET FASTENEB.

APPLICATION F1LED1UNE14.1911.

Patented Nov'. 18, 1919.

in IIIIII/ dll rrr-rrr or rig. fr;

pniTnD sTATEs PATENT ouurcn.

DAVID BOURQUE, OF'AMESBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSGNOR T0 G. W. J. MURPl-YC0.,

0F AMES'BURY, MASSACHUSETTS, A'GGRPORATION 0F MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Mov. lh, 1919..

tontinuation of application Serial No. 109,378, led July 14, 1916. Thisapplication filed June 1d, 1917 Serial No.

T 0 all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that l, DAVID BOURQUE, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, and a resident of Rocky Hill, Amesbury, 1n the county of Essenand Commonwealth `of Massachusetts, have invented an 1mprovement inStud-,and-Socket Fasteners, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likecharacters on the drawings representing like parts. j

'lhis inventionrelates to that class of stud-and-socket fasteners inwhich the socket is provided with yielding jaws to ref, ceive and lockover the head of the stud.

My inventionprovides a fastener of the type described, suitable foralmost universal use as a snap fastener, but particularly adapted foruse on vehicle curtains, and the like, where it is essential that thecurtain carrying the socket be so securely attached to the stud that itwillnot be disengaged therefrom by the flapping of the curtain or anoutward strain thereon due to wind pressure. A fastener constructed inaccordance with my invention is more convenient to apply and use thanthosehitherto known and also has superior holding power.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the followingdescription of an illustrative lembodiment thereof taken.'4 inconnection with vthe accompanying drawing showing the same, wherein:

ln the drawings, Figure 1 is a central. sectional view of the fastenershowing one socket member carrying a stud, and a second socketengaged'over said stud;

lFig. 2 a central sectional view` of a stud and socket member, saidsocket member loeing formed without the integral stud;

Fig. 3 `a detail sectionalview on-the line 4lfig. d a transversesectional View 'of the socket member on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1; liig.5 a view similar to Fig. 4, showing a slightly different form of'springvlocking jaws; Y, Y

lfig. 6.a similar view of another slightly did'erent form of dockingjaws;

Fig. 7 a detail sectional view on the line Mill-JVM of Fig. 6. l

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2, the fastener which I have thereshown for purposes of illustration includes a stud mem-- be describedwhen seated behind the shoul.

der will be .positively locked "by the same l without the latterexerting any force tending to unseat the jaws. rllhe diameter of theshank portion ofthe stud may be reduced adjacent the head to form a neck6, this neck in the embodiment shown being joined to the main portion ofthe' shank by acurved surface The purpose of thus reducing the shank toform a neck is .to provide positioning means for the socket member sothat it will not slide inwardly along the shank of the stud. Thisconstruction, however, while desirable is not essential. lt should benoted that'the neck 6 is substantially co-axial with'the shank and heador,

in other words, is uniformly reduced at every side 'and that the stud istherefore perfectly symmetrical. The head 3 beyond the shoulderl 5 ishere shown as rounded but of course it may be of any desired or suitablecontour.

The socket member may consist of a cylindrical casing or eyelet 161,having a front or outer wall-11 and a short cylindrical wall 12. At theinner. end of the cylindrical wall is formed a. short annular flange.13, said flange forming the radial shoulder 14. At' the outer end ofvthe radial flange is formed a cylindrical portion 15. Within thiscylindrical portion and bearing against the shoulderld` is a washer 16,the purpose of which is to retain in place the spring jaws of the socketas hereinafter described, said washer having a centrall aperture 17.Between the front wall 11 of the socket member, and thewasher 16,'isarranged the spring-locking jaws, the Wall 12 being of suliicient lengthto form a narrow space or jaw-receiving chamber in which' the jawstructure fits snugly, but yet is free to be operated by the studmember.

l'The locking jaws may be formed of suitable spring wire. In Fig. 4 Ihave shown one suitable arrangement of these jaws comprising a springstructure 18 which is of pieces eoperate to form a substantially annulargripping surface adapted. to engage behind the shoulder 5 of the stud.Between adjoining jaws or stud-engaging portions is a'space 22 so thatthe jaws may move in- `wardly and outwardly without engaging each other.

It will be noted that the spring structure. shown in Fig. 4, as well asthose illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 (which will be described in detailhereinafter) has manifold, and preferably as shown three-fold, symmetryabout the center. By manifold symmetry I mear. that if a portion of thestructure were imagined as rotating about the center for a fraction of arevolution, one-third for threefold symmetry, one-quarter for four-foldsymmetry, ete., that. it would jin its new position coincide with thepart of the structure already occupying that position. This is sometimesreferred to as radial symmetry and is-similar to that ofthe petals of ac llower. The importance of this construction in the present instance`lies in the fact that it provldes a perfectly balanced structure.

The jaws are permitted to yieldl outwardly in truly radial directions inone planeand.

they press inwardly to locking position equally on all sides, thusfirmly securing the head structure in place.- Furthermore, by .thissymmetrical arrangement it is immaterial how the socket is placed on thecurtain 25 so long as it is adapted to register with the stud 1. i

As I have stated the jaw structure might be of the general form ofany-polygon but it is preferably substantially triangular as shown, or,more accurately expressed, it has a three-fold symmetry. The reason forthis is that a triangle forms in itself a trussed frame which apart fromthe actual bending of the material of which it is composed, can notbevdistorted or changed in shape as, for example, a square can bedistorted into an oblique parallelogr-am' without bending or breaking"the sides. This arrangement of the jaws as elements of a trussed framecontributes to accurate vcentering thereof as each will be held by theother two at the same radial distance from the center and at the sameangle'. Furthermore, this arrangement contributes to the symrfietricaland accurately radial yielding of the several jaws and therefore thestud is unich more securely held.

Vhile not essential to all embodiments of my invention, particularlythose in which the shoulder 5 ofthe stud is abrupt as described, Ipreferably so design the spring jaw structure that it will have adetinite limit of outward yielding. Referring to Fig. 4, it will beapparentthat as the jaws are spread outwardly the sides of thetriangular structure tend to straighten out and that the distance whichthey may give in practice is limited, this distance varying with thegage and resiliency of the wire used. The diameter of the circle formedby the arc-shaped gripping jaws 21 is normally equal to the diameter ofthe neck G of the stud. The extreme diameter to which they may be spreadshould preferably be less than the diameter of the head 3 measuredacross theshoulder 5. It would. however, be greater than the distancemeasured ,from one side of the neck 6 to the opposite extremity of theshoulder. Thus if the jaws are 90 symmetrically pressed apart they stillcan not be brought over the locking head 3 but will reach their limit ofelasticity before such release can take place. If a downward pull,viewing Fig. 2, is exerted on the socket member, however, the lower jawcan be carried past the edge of the shoulder and if the socket isthen'tipped, it can be removed from the stud, the action being like thatof a button in a button hole. While, as will 100 later appear, thisconstruction of the spring is not necessary if the shoulder 5 is anabrupt one, I prefer to use it. The length fof the shank of `the stud asdescribed provides a clearance which permits the socket member to betipped sharply so as to permit this manipulative action.

The socket may be secured in position in any suitable manner but Ipreferably make -washer 26, the said washer and the turnedover portionof the rivet elenching and locking the curtain against the'fiange 23 ofthe rivet and against the inturned ange 24a of the socket. By this meansthe curtain material is clenched and locked over the said flange 24".thereby7 strongly attaching the socket member to the curtain. The studmember enters the socket member through the tubular rivet and passesthrough the. aperture 17 in the spring-retaining washer. 1:10

rasiert While it is within the scope of my inveniiange 23 of the tubularrivet as a wall of the chamber which retains the spring jaw structure inposition, it is Ipreferable to use a separate washer 16 as shown. Thereason for this is thatthe wall of the chamber should, as shown in Fig.It, extend very close to the gripping faces of the jaws 21 so as to aorda firm support forthe jaw structure when the stud pulls lengthwise uponit. lf

it were attempted to utilize the Hangs of the rivet for this purpose andto carry it down as far as the inner edge of the washer 16 as shown inFig. 2, it would be necessary to bend the flange 23 at a very sharpangle and when it was attempted to fasten the socket to a curtain byriveting on the other end of the rivet on the washer 26, the rivet might'break where bent and in any event lwould be pressed down toward thefront wall 11 .of the socket and probably would jam the spring structure18 between itself and such front wall. When the washer 16 is utilized,however, the rivet may 'be turned outwardly at a much greater distancefrom the center of the socket as shown and bent along a curve, thusproviding a conical support which will transfer along the elementsthereof the forces developed when the end of the rivet is turned over atthe other side low stud 28, the said stud being in form like As shown insaid the stud member l. Fig. 1, the head of the stud member 1 extendsinto the hollow stud 2S, and the head of the stud 28 projects throughthe aperture 27 in the second socket member. This arrangement of parts.and these two forms of socket members,. are desirable where two or morecurtains are to be se cured at the same point. lderetofore it has` beenthe custom to use what are termed double curtain fasteners, or triplecur-` tain fasteners for securing two or more nur tains at the samepoint. finch curtain fas toners are usually 'provided with long studsadapted to receive two or n'iore curtains. 'Fliese special forms ofstuds rendered the fasteners expensive to manufacture and were unsightlywhen the curtains were not in position. By the form 'of fastener ,described herein the stud nien'lber attached to the rigid part of theveliicle will always be a short stud adapted to receive a singlecurtain. WVhere two or more curtains are to be fastened at the samepoint, the rst curtain to be fastened to the stud will be provided witha. socket having an integral sup plemental stud 28. vrFhe curtain to befastened over the supplemental stud 28 may be provided with a socketmember havin the aperture 27 in its outer wall 11, orwith a supplementalstud 28 formed thereon, de pending on whether or not another curtain isto be secured at the same point.- Where a single curtain is to besecured as shown in Fig 2, a. socket mem'berhaving the aperture 27 inits front wall will be used.y

lin Fig. 5 l show a slightly did'erent form of jaw structure. lin thisform of device the jaw structure consists of a spring wire bent to formjaw sections 21a, 4said jaw sections being connected together by theoutwardly curved spring portions 30. 'llhese curved portions bearagainst the inner wall of the annular part 12 of the socket member,thereby centering the jaw members in the socket and permitting saidmembers to spring Voutwardly to permit of the passage of the studmember.

ln Fig. 6 another slightly different form of jaw structure is shown. 1nthis form of the device the jaw sections 2.1b are connected together bythe straight members 31. .'llhe spring-retaining washer 16 is formedwith the inwardly extending lugs 32 which engage the straight portions31 of the jaw structure, as shown clearly in Fig. 7, and in dottedlines-in Fig. 6. rllhese lugs center the jaw structure in the socketmember and permit the jaw sections to spring outwardly under the actionof the stud and during the operations of inserting and withdrawing thestud from the jaw member.

All of the jaw structures shown have threefold symmetry about a center.'lihe three jaws are arranged equal distances kapart around the centerof the socket member, and 'each jaw .is free to move radially outwardly;and in each structure there is a siight space between adjoining jaw members.

rlihe iocking jaws preferably are circular or semi-circular in crosssection and the head i of the stud may be of such, diameter that theshoulder 5 will entend slightly beyoud the center of 'the circular orseini-cir cular portions of the locking jaws as indi cated in .li-figs.l and 2. rlihe result of this is that., even independently of thestrength of the spirit s as described above, the two men-i bers of thefastener cannot be disengaged or ing pull. rihe shoulder 5 will engagethe jaw members on their outer sides at a point directly in iine withthe center ofthe wil-c forming the jaws and the head will extendoutwardy beyond said point of engagement.

'Ill

lll() disconnected by a, direct outward or separat- J .f

If it is'desired to separate the parts they must be laterally movedrelatively to each other to distort the jaws and permit one of them tomove clear of the shoulder and they placed in the sharply angularposition relative to the stud which permits this action. Only such atipping of` the stud asiwould result from an `intentional manipulationthereof will cause disengagement, the slight tipping which might becaused by the belly' ing of the `curtain 25 under4 wind pressure notbeing sufficient. The arc shape of the gripping jaws which collectivelysubstantially embrace the neck of the stud cooperates in keep-ing thefastener locked against accidental displacement, since a considerablesegment must be lifted clear from its seat. These arc-shaped surfacesclasp the neck of the stud and e'i'ectually prevent such move` ment asmight cause the head to enter between Iadjacent parts of the spring jawsys tem and wedge the jaws away from their seats at times when it wasnot desired to loosen'the fastener. As will be seen in Figs. 4, 5 and 6,the portions of the spring other than the arc-shaped jaw portion arehoused in the casing away from the opening which receives the stud yandso shielded from con'- tact with the head 3. proper which project at themargins of the opening are adapted to lie entirely behind the shoulder5. This result is most conveniently obtained by giving them the arc-likeform shown and described.

It will be noted that the operation of unfastening the device is aperfectly natural one, since the sockets are usually placed at the edgeof a curtain'or the like, which Would 'naturally be seized by its edgeand given a combined downward and outward pull which would release oneof the jawsY and tip the socket yso as to move this jawover the head 3.At the same time, the structure of my fastener must not be confoundedwith that of the ordinary snap fastener such as is used on gloves andthe like, which is ordinarily released by a strain similarly applied.These fasteners arenot `one side, the fastener might equally beseparated by a direct pull and in fact is so separated, since the socketmember of such a snap fastener has no clearance from the base of t-hestud member which would per- The j aw portions mitl such an unbuttoningaction as 1 have described. `Such snap fasteners obviously would beunadapted for use on vehicle curtains and in similar situations wherewind pressure can apply considerable strain. A fastener is desired whichwill be positively locked except when it is deliberately manipulated forunfastening.

An important featureof my invent-ion is the absolute symmetry of thedevice. This is of importance in. applying the fasteners since it is notnecessary to consider at what angle the sockets need to be placedproperly to mate with the sides as has been necessary in stud and socketfasteners of the prior art. It will be appreciated that in the case ofthe curtain for example, which has a curved l edge, that this accurate|positioning would be a very delicate operation and that/slightinaccuracies would cause a good deal of trouble in the manipulation ofthe stud. A major advantage is that while the stud is firmly held fromall sides, except when the socket is voluntarily tipped as described,this tipping action may take place from any-side of the stud. Forexample, if a yperson in a vehicle desires to manipulate the `sidecurtains ,on the outside without leaving his seat, it is a veryconsiderable -convenience to be able to separate them by a pull inwhatever direction chances to be most convenient.

While I have herein described in considerable detail the form offastener illustrated in the accompanying drawings and in describing itsstructure and function used specific words and phrases, it will beunderstood that my purpose in so doing was to make the form and purposeof the mechanical elements disclosed more readily appar-A en't and thatit was not intended to imply thereby that the specific detailsillustrated are of the essence of the invention. What I do claim anddesire'to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A fastener comprising, in combination, a socket member having a setof radially yieldable jaws and a stud member having an enlarged head toengage said jaws and a long shank, said head being joined to said shankby an abrupt shoulder positively to lock against said jaws when thesocket member is strained longitudinally of the shank, said shank beingof a length to provide a clearance to permit the socket member to betipped .relatively to the shank whereby to permit the jaw structure tobe drawn over one side of the head, said socket member being freelytippable in any direction about said studmember.

2. A fastener comprising, in combination, a socket member having a setof radially yieldable jaws and a stud member having a shank and anenlarged head, said jaws being designed for a limit of yielding toprovide an 'bpening between them less than the 130 lil maximum diameterof the head and said shank being of a length to provide a clearance topermit the socket to'be tipped relatively to the shank whereby the. jawstructure can be drawn over one side of the head.

3. A fastener comprising, in combination, a socket member comprising acasing and a jaw system therein includingthree or more outwardlyyieldable jaws arranged about a center and a stud having a shank and anenlarged head joined to said shank -by an abrupt annular shoulderpositively to lock against said jaws when the 4socket member is strainedlongitudinally of the shank, said shank being of a length to provide aclear ance to permit the socket member to be tipped relatively tothe'shank whereby to permit the jaw structure to be drawn over 4one sideof the head.

t. A fastener comprising, in combination, Aa socket member comprising acasingV and a jaw system therein 'comprising three or more outwardlyyieldable jaws arranged about a center and a stud having a shank and anenlarged head behind which the jaws are adapted to seat, saidjaws-having a limit of outward yielding to provide an opening betweenthem of less-size than the maximum diameter of tlfe head and said shankbbeing of a length to provide a clearance to permit the socket to betipped relatively to the shank whereby the jaw structure can be drawnover one side of the head.

5. A fastener as described in claim 3 in which the engaging faces of thejaws are arcs collectively substantially embracing the shank of thestud.

6. A fastener as described in claim 4 in which the engaging faces of thejaws are arcs collectively substantially embracing the shank of thestud. i

'i'. A fastener as described in claim' 3 wherein the jaw system hasthreefold symnietry whereby undesired distortion of the system isprevented.

8. A fastener comprising, in combination, a stud having an enlarged headwith a shoulder, a socket member comprising a caslng having a centralopening to receive the stud and stud holding means in said casingcomprising arc-shaped gripping jaws presented at the margin of saidopening and collectively substantially embracing the stud behind saidshoulder and spring sustaining imeans for-the jaws housed within thecas-` lng laterally of the opening, the shank of the Stud being of alength to provide a clearance to permit the socket to be tipped.

9. A fastener comprising, in combination, a stud having an enlarged headwith a shoulder, a socket member comprising a casing having a centralopening to receive the stud and stud holding meansiin said casingcomprising gripping jaws presented at the margin of said opening andadapted to lie entirely behind said shoulder and spring 10. The fasteneras delinedvin claim 8 wherein the stud holding means comprises three ormore jaws symmetrically mounted for radial yielding.

11. The fastener as defined in claim 9 wherein the stud holding meanscomprises three or more jaws symmetrically mounted for radial yielding.i

' 12. As a means forl attaching two'separate curtains .or the likeindependently or conjointly toa support, one element of a separablefastener for attachment to the support, aduplex element for one curtaincomprising both male and female parts, one adapted to interfit with thesaid one element and the other .being similar to said element, and afastener element for the second curtain adapted for engagement eitherwith said one element or that which is similar thereto, the fasteningformed b complementary elements being inseparay le byl direct pull andthe parts thereof -being relactively sharply tippable to permitseparation thereof, whereby independent manipulation of the curtains ismade possible.

13. A compound stud and socket fastener for the securmg of superpo'sedelements comv prising a stud having an enlarged head, a

duplex member comprising a casing having al rear wall apertured toreceive the stud and a front wall cooperating with the rear wall tosupiport and position a spring jaw to engage behind the. head, thematerial of the front wall being extruded in line with the stud andproviding a hollow studlike member, said member having an enlarged head,the inner portion of said hollow member receiving the head of the studwhen the parts are assembled, and a third element comprising a sockethaving `meansy for engaging the head of said hollow member.

14. A fastener comprising a stud having a long shank and a head joinedto said shank =by an abrupt annular shoulder and a sockethaving jaws'toengage behind said shoulder and be posltlvely locked thereby againstoutward withdrawal and yieldable to release over the head when thesocket is sharply tipped from any direction, the length of the studproviding a clearance for tipping the socket.

In testlmony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

DAVID BOURQUE.

